Pokemon Red
Pokémon Red version Pokémon Red was the first Pokémon games to see release outside of Japan, becoming available in North America on September 1, 1998, and thus being the first Pokémon media to hit the international market. The pair were followed closely after their release by the Pokémon anime, which began airing less than a week later, and within a year, Pokémon was well-known as a popular Nintendo franchise, with a third version, Pokémon Yellow, on the way. Unlike later generations,Pokemon Red was not the same as they were in their Japanese releases. Japan had gotten their first pair of Pokémon games as Red and Green, which in all aspects were the same as Red and Blue with the exception of sprite design. When preparing the games for their English release, it was decided that Red and Green would be merged with Japan's already-released third version, Blue, for its improved graphics and sound. Despite being released towards the end of its console's lifespan, it quickly became the best-selling non-bundled game released for the Game Boy. Plot Illustrating the original Pokémon gameplay concepts, players begin their game in Pallet Town, a small town in the Kanto region, on the same day as their former best friend and now rival. Professor Oak calls the player to his laboratory, and allows the player to choose from starter Pokémon: the Grass-type Bulbasaur, Fire-type Charmander, or the Water-type Squirtle. After the rival has jealously chosen the starter that weakens the player's choice and had a preliminary battle, the player leaves for his journey across the region, challenging Gym Leaders and other Trainers on their way to the ultimate goal: the Pokémon League at the Indigo Plateau. Along the way, the player will meet up with his rival several times, and have multiple run-ins with the insidious Team Rocket, a criminal group that seeks to use Pokémon for their own gain. But who is its leader... and what are his ultimate goals? Blurb "You've finally been granted your Pokémon Trainer's license. Now, it's time to head out to become the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer. It's going to take all you've got to collect 150 Pokémon in this enormous world. Catch and train monsters like the shockingly-cute Pikachu. Face off against Blastoise's torrential water cannons. Stand strong when facing Pidgeot's stormy Gust. Trade with friends and watch your Pokémon evolve. Important—no single Pokémon can win at all. Can you develop the ultimate Pokémon strategy to defeat the eight Gym Leaders and become the greatest Pokémon Master of all time?" Connectivity Like in Red and Green, players may trade Pokémon between two cartridges using a Game Boy link cable. To take full advantage of this feature, several Pokémon are exclusive to each game of the pair, making it required that a person trade with others in order to complete their Pokédex. The link cable also makes possible battles with another player, allowing one to pit his or her Pokémon against new challenges. Trades between Pokémon games in different languages are impossible in this generation, and will always result in corruption if attempted. This is due to the fact that the games cannot automatically translate the Pokémon data, since there is not enough room on either cartridge for all of the text in so many languages (a feature that would later become possible). Features Gyms Players are introduced to the first eight Pokémon Gyms, each with their own type affiliation, of the series, led by Brock (Rock), Misty (Water), Lt. Surge (Electric), Erika (Grass), Koga (Poison), Sabrina (Psychic), Blaine (Fire) and Giovanni (Ground). Elite Four The Elite Four of Kanto are a step above the rest, all located at the Indigo Plateau and ready to take on all challengers. In order, they are Lorelei (Ice), Bruno (Fighting), Agatha (Ghost) and Lance (Dragon). The final battle a Trainer has is against the Champion, their rival, who has Pokémon of mixed types. Pokémon Each game contains pre-recorded data on 151 different species of Pokémon, including Mew, a Pokémon unavailable to players of either game under normal conditions. Despite this, not all Pokémon are available to the player, regardless of version; trades must occur between players in order to complete their Pokédex without the use of cheats or glitches. Mew is the only Pokémon in these games that must be acquired through attending either a Nintendo sponsored event, a glitch, or cheating. Version exclusives The following Pokémon are only obtainable in one game of this pair. In order to obtain Pokémon exclusive to the other game of this pair, they must be traded either from that game or from another compatible game of Generation I which has that Pokémon available. Red 023 Ekans Poison 024 Arbok Poison 043 Oddish Grass Poison 044 Gloom Grass Poison 045 Vileplume Grass Poison 056 Mankey Fighting 057 Primeape Fighting 058 Growlithe Fire 059 Arcanine Fire 123 Scyther Bug Flying 125 Electabuzz Electric Blue 027 Sandshrew Ground 028 Sandslash Ground 037 Vulpix Fire 038 Ninetales Fire 052 Meowth Normal 053 Persian Normal 069 Bellsprout Grass Poison 070 Weepinbell Grass Poison 071 Victreebel Grass Poison 126 Magmar Fire 127 Pinsir Bug Compatibility Red and Blue are compatible with all games from Generations I and II, provided the language is the same. Trading between these games, as well as battling, is allowed. However, it is incompatible with Generations III and IV. Reception The games received positive reviews from the press, receiving a perfect 10/10 from IGN 1, with Gamespot UK calling them "an excellent RPG for players of all experience levels." 2. The games received an average score of 89% on Game Rankings, the second highest on the site for a main series Pokémon game, and the 7th best score for a Game Boy title. Criticism Koffing's Red and Blue sprite paired with its Diamond and Pearl sprite . Note that the skull and crossbones of the sprite on the left are not placed correctly. While bringing Pokémon to international fame and continuing the legacy of the Japanese Red and Green, Pokémon Red and Blue have been met with much criticism, especially compared to more recent releases in the series. Aside from the number of glitches present in the games, many Pokémon look very little like their appearance in the anime, which premiered nearly simultaneous with the games' North American release, or later games, which improved on several other aspects as well as the graphics. The two games are also notorious for their several drastic glitches, among them the fabled Missingno., Glitch City, and the Mew glitch. Despite this, the glitches are arguably minimal points of criticism due to the reward value that comes from their activation, such as the multiplication of a player's sixth item that happens when Missingno. is encountered.